America's History With South Africa Is A Blueprint For How To Change The Gun Industry

AP Images Since the tragic shooting in Newtown, there have been calls to reform America's gun industry. The question is how.

One of the most effective ways to do it, said former New York governor Eliot Spitzer (for one), is by messing with the industry's money.

And that's what happened.

Private equity firm Cerberus Capital announced that it would be divesting itself from its gun holding company, the Freedom Group, after coming under pressure from one of its investors, the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS).

That's especially because the movement snowballed, and prompted companies to divest from the country as well (from the NYT in 1987):

The Investor Responsibility Research Center, a nonprofit group that tracks American investment in South Africa, said 96 American companies ended direct links with South Africa between January 1986 and last month...

The center's report said 50 companies severed direct ties in 1986 and 46 had done so between January and September of this year. The slight quickening of pace was linked to the passage by Congress late last year of sanctions against South Africa, Mr. Hauck said.

Besides Cerberus, Colt Defense, a spinoff from the manufacturer of the .44-40 Colt revolver made famous by John Wayne, is jointly owned by Sciens Capital Management, a fund advised by the Blackstone Group and another fund run by Credit Suisse...

And then there is MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm that once owned the diet company Jenny Craig that now controls Bushnell Outdoor Products.